AHMEDABAD:
Terming the attack on Sabarmati Express at Godhra in Panchamahal district of
Gujarat as a "pre-planned, violent act of terrorism", chief
minister Narendra Modi said the state government wasviewing the incident
"very seriously".

— (PTI, 28 February
28, 1:02:51 a.m.)

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‘As soon the train
left the platform and moved a bit further, about half-a-kilometre or so, it
was stoned. After the stoning, inflammable materials like diesel, petrol
etc. were thrown in – looks like a pre-planned incident – and
immediately the S6 coach was set on fire… This is not a riot. In a riot
there is a confrontation, in a communal riot there is retaliation. This is
just pre-planned, organised and as though all things have been prepared in
advance. And for the situation to develop in a matter of minutes – it
looks like an organised sort of crime…’

Union home minister
L K Advani on Monday said the Godhra mayhem was a "pre-meditated
attack" and described the arson that followed as "nothing but
communal violence." Mr Advani told a crowded press conference here that
while the Godhra incident was the result of a "pre-meditated"
plan, the subsequent killing spree "was nothing but communal
violence."

— (Daily Pioneer, 4
March 2002.)

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‘This has never
happened in the history of independent India. Hindu society will avenge the
Godhra killings. Muslim should accept the fact that Hindus are not wearing
bangles. We will respond vigorously to all such incidents.’

— (Pravin Togadia,
international general secretary, VHP; in an interview to Hotline in
Ayodhya).

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LUCKNOW: Chairman of
the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas Ram Chandra Paramhans has warned of a possible
Hindu backlash. "These unarmed kar sevaks, who were merely
chanting Ram naam, were peacefully going back to their homes,"
Paramhans said, adding that a reaction to this attack by "Islamic jihadis"
could not be ruled out.

—(The Telegraph, 28
February 2002.)

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‘The
violence during the bandh was a result of natural outpouring of anger and
grief over the Godhra massacre.’

— (VHP
vice-president, Acharya Giriraj Kishore, on the morning of 28 February 2002;
in The Times of India.)

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‘Whoever stays
with us will benefit. You can see the results in UP. In this country whoever
stays with the Hindu community and Hindutva, will benefit, or they will
suffer.’

‘Incidents like
this (Godhra) show the psyche of a community. What was the reason for the
pilgrims who were attacked when they came from Amarnath? What was the
reason? That is the psyche, I say…communal violence can be checked only
(when we understand) why this incident happened, who did it, what is the
psyche behind it? This should be studied.’